Hesperia school police chief back at work

Monday

Apr 29, 2013 at 5:25 PMApr 30, 2013 at 2:07 PM

Rene De La Cruz, Staff Writer

HESPERIA • Michael Graham, the former police chief of the Hesperia Unified School District, is back on the job.

"Last week, I received an official letter from Assistant Superintendent of Personnel Karen Kelly asking me to report to duty," said Graham as the district's board adjourned to closed session Monday just after 4:30 p.m.

Graham, who won his wrongful termination suit against the district in March, said he spent much of the day trying to remember names and meeting new people after being gone for 15 months.

During the closed session, a handful of district teachers and families were surprised when Graham walked into the conference room dressed in a business suit.

"We heard that Mike was going to be sworn in tonight," said a woman, who wished to remain anonymous.

Several other individuals had heard the same thing, even though Graham was not on the board agenda except for the appointment of a "school police officer."

Graham, who filed suit last May against the district, was terminated from his job after battling former Board President Chris Bentley and former District Superintendent Mark McKinney.

The court ordered that Graham be "reinstated with full back pay and benefits," according to court records.

Graham would not discuss his salary package, but he did say he experienced a mixed bag of emotions.

"When I left, it was not a very pleasant situation," Graham said. "But I see a lot of happy faces now, and I've been welcomed back with open arms."

The board was not available to comment, and board member Ella "Lee" Rogers said there would be nothing to report after the closed session, which was still going on as of 7:45 p.m. Monday.

In March, Judge John P. Vander Feer ruled that the board's accusation of insubordination against Graham was not supported by the evidence.

In a public hearing in February 2012, McKinney alleged that Graham had been insubordinate and had sought to ridicule him publicly. Bentley was among three board members who denied Graham's appeal, and Bentley read the statement of Graham's termination at the hearing.

Bentley lost his reelection bid in November, and McKinney was terminated by the board last December.

Rene De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com.

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